U19 V Pres Carlow away Tues 28th Nov LOST 4-2

Borris suffered a bad defeat away to Pres on Tuesday. The loss means that they need to beat Bagenalstown on Fri to have any hope of progressing to the semi finals.

The match started badly for Borris. Facing a strong wind, Borris struggled to get hold of the ball. A Pres attack down Borris' left side saw Louis Brennan blatently fouled on the halfway line. With the Borris defence expecting the referee to call a halt to play, Pres played on and scored the first goal of the game. The referee didn't give the free and Borris were one down.

A second Pres goal quickly followed. Borris failed to mark their men properly from a corner and the ball was bundled over the line to give Borris a mountain to climb. As the game wore on Borris started to dominate. They found it difficult to create any clear cut chances but Jon Nolan finally set James Smithers free to finish superbly and reduce the deficit to one goal. 2-1 at half time would have been a fair reflection. However, Borris' indiscipline cost them another goal right on the stroke of half-time. A free-kick delivered from the right found the head of a Pres player and he found the back of the net to make it 3-1.

With the aid of the wind in the second half Borris took complete control of the game. Pres defended deep but Borris couldn't find a way through. Disaster struck after ten minutes as Pres scored a fourth on the counter. A failure to clear the ball led to a two-on-one situation that left Jack Flood in goal with no chance. Borris didn't give up though. They eventually scored a second with a few minutes remaining through Seanan Doyle. That was the end of the scoring as Pres defended well until the final whistle.

In a poor performance it is difficult to pick out players who would be happy with their efforts. Ciaran Whelan did well in midfield and James Smithers tried hard. Jack Flood also had a solid game in goal despite the scoreline. Next up is a must win game against the reigning champions PDLS on Friday.